Kaiser Permanente, a California-based health care giant, is planning a strike against its employees over proposed AI use and chronic understaffing. The National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) is organizing the strike, which is set to take place on March 18 at Kaiser facilities in the Bay Area, Central Valley and Sacramento. The union alleges that Kaiser is using technology, including artificial intelligence, rather than therapists, to perform critical functions such as determining patient treatment. The strike is being held by the NUHAW, which represents roughly 2,400 therapists, social workers, and psychologists who provide mental health care to the 4.6 million Kaiser patients in Northern California. Despite multiple government disciplinary actions and nearly a quarter-billion dollars in settlements and fines, Kaiser Permanent appears further away from addressing the gaps in its mental health coverage. The company has been fined hundreds of millions of dollars by regulators and is currently sitting on roughly $67 billion in unrestricted cash reserves.